Duke can't keep up against inspired Cardinals team

Louisville players Russ Smith (2), Gorgui Dieng (10) and Montrezl Harrell, right, react to an injury to guard Kevin Ware during the first half of the Midwest Regional final against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Indianapolis.

The Associated Press

By Adam Smith/Halifax Media Group

Published: Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 11:02 PM.

INDIANAPOLIS — With Louisville on the free-throw line and exactly two minutes remaining in Sunday’s Midwest Region final, Mason Plumlee took a few moments to calculate the likelihood of improbability.

The power forward quickly came to a conclusion.

By that juncture, even a miracle couldn’t send Duke to the Final Four.

“It really hits when you’re down 17 or 18 with a minute or two left. Even the ‘Miracle Minute’ wasn’t from down 17,” Plumlee said, invoking the nickname of Duke’s difficult-to-comprehend 2001 rally past Maryland. “You always play to the end, but there’s a realization there with a minute or two to go.”

That finality was delivered in effect by the blitzing, blurring combination of Louisville guards Russ Smith and Peyton Siva, who took turns shredding the Blue Devils during the Cardinals’ 85-63 rout at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Smith (23 points) and Siva (16 points, four assists), the undersized yet relentless pair of 6-footers, broke down Duke with dribble penetration in half-court sets and attacking races in transition.

INDIANAPOLIS — With Louisville on the free-throw line and exactly two minutes remaining in Sunday’s Midwest Region final, Mason Plumlee took a few moments to calculate the likelihood of improbability.

The power forward quickly came to a conclusion.

By that juncture, even a miracle couldn’t send Duke to the Final Four.

“It really hits when you’re down 17 or 18 with a minute or two left. Even the ‘Miracle Minute’ wasn’t from down 17,” Plumlee said, invoking the nickname of Duke’s difficult-to-comprehend 2001 rally past Maryland. “You always play to the end, but there’s a realization there with a minute or two to go.”

That finality was delivered in effect by the blitzing, blurring combination of Louisville guards Russ Smith and Peyton Siva, who took turns shredding the Blue Devils during the Cardinals’ 85-63 rout at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Smith (23 points) and Siva (16 points, four assists), the undersized yet relentless pair of 6-footers, broke down Duke with dribble penetration in half-court sets and attacking races in transition.

“Their guards were in the lane the whole game. The whole game they were living in our paint,” Duke guard Seth Curry said.

“Earlier in the game, I thought we did a good job of corralling those guys,” Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon said. “Those guys are really fast. They’re really quick. You have to have the legs and you have to have the discipline to do it for 40 minutes.

“I thought we did it for 30 minutes. Then, after that, they just opened it up.”

What followed was a 17-2 run from Louisville to rip apart a 42-42 tie in the second half – the decidedly partisan Cardinals crowd erupting with its approval as coach Mike Krzyzewski sat there powerless on his stool in front of the Duke bench – and a stream of season-ending emotions in the Blue Devils’ locker room.

This defeat in the Elite Eight became the last stop for seniors Plumlee, Curry and Ryan Kelly and Duke assistant coach Chris Collins, who, after 13 years under Krzyzewski, is departing to take the head job at Northwestern.

Duke started this season 15-0 and held the nation’s No. 1 ranking for a total of five weeks (mostly in December). But ultimately a spot in the Final Four, a pairing against Wichita State next weekend in Atlanta, failed to be secured.

And that finality was readily apparent when the locker room doors opened and Krzyzewski, Curry, Kelly and Plumlee emerged with red, watery eyes. Inside, Quinn Cook had been crying and Sulaimon, a towel draped around his neck, couldn’t hold off the tears that continually welled and fell to the carpeted floor.

“The thing that hurts the most is seeing those seniors not walk out as champions,” Sulaimon said, his voice choked. “They’ve given so much to this program, made such a big impact on all of us, on me personally. I just feel like I let them down in a sense.”

Said Curry: “It’s tough. I feel like we fought all year as a team, so it’s tough to see it end. And I feel like we had a chance to win it all. But in this tournament if you don’t bring your best every single game, especially in these late rounds, you’re going to get put out.”

Gorgui Dieng also played a critical factor for Louisville. The 6-11 center loomed large down low at times and finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots while the Cardinals won their 14th consecutive game and advanced to their second straight Final Four.

Plumlee (17 points, 12 rebounds), Cook (12 points, five assists) and Curry (12 points, eight of which were confined to a two-minute burst) paced Duke statistically, as Krzyzewski’s glowing career record in NCAA region finals dropped to 11-2.

But Duke’s guard trio of Curry, Cook and Sulaimon shot 5-for-31 from the field got overwhelmed by swift assertiveness of Louisville’s Smith and Siva, who went 13-for-18 inside the 3-point arc.

“Those are two of the best guards in the country,” Cook said. “We did a good job in the beginning … .”

The Duke point guard trailed off, leaving unsaid what was obvious – Louisville’s game-defining surge in the second half, touched off by Siva’s six straight points, that gained further momentum with Siva driving and Dieng mixing buckets inside with jumpers from 15 feet to eventually catapult the Cardinals ahead 59-44 with 9½ minutes left.

Prior to that stretch, Cook waved his arms and shouted “let’s go!” to the Duke portion of the crowd, the Blue Devils sensing the tide shifting in their favor, after Plumlee hammered a dunk over the falling Dieng, tying the score at 42-42 with 16 minutes remaining.

“Seth got going. Seth got some looks. All five of us was rolling,” Cook said. “Then they went on that run and we couldn’t really get it back.”

All-Midwest Region Team

Russ Smith, Louisville (Most Outstanding Player)

Peyton Siva, Louisville

Gorgui Dieng, Louisville

Seth Curry, Duke

Mason Plumlee, Duke

Difference from November to March

Mason Plumlee on most notable difference’s between Sunday’s Midwest region final and Duke’s 76-71 victory against Louisville in late November: “I just think they’re better overall as a team. I think they’re quicker to spots, they’re quicker to double from half-court. I think you can just see that they’ve gotten better. We have, too. But I think their defense has gone to another level.”